Watching
by Teinhraec
Summary: The days before the Freedom Fighters. The days where Smellerbee was known by WenLi. The day when the Fire Nation changed it all with a single spark.


Watching

By: Teinhraec

A/N: First fanfiction so don't expect it to be worthy of the Pulitzer Award. Constructive criticism is welcomed, flames are not. This is about Smellerbee, my favorite Freedom Fighter, and the beginning of the Freedom Fighters.

DISCLAIMER: I, Teinhraec, do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. Nor am I making any type of profit off of this.

**Chapter One: ** The Snake and the Mouse

"Oh dear," whispered an aged woman. As she stood the porch of her home, staring down at the village, the woman frowned.

It was night. The moon was crying starry tears for what was taking place.

Fire had engulfed it. It was merciless. The wind was blowing hard, feeding the fire. It was shame; the village had done nothing to the Fire Nation. The village wasn't very rich, most homes were made of natural resources like timber, rock, or anything else usable. No one could think of any reason why there village was burned down. Tranquil, honest, and humble was the village. Now it is screaming, full of terror, and dying. Soon to be dead and silent. Only wandering spirits to grace the former village with their spirits.

Many of the men were throwing dirt on the fire in an attempt to put it out while the women and children used any water they could get their hands own to douse it. The fire was slowing decreasing, little by little. Even from her small home on top of a towering hill, she knew that the people were tired. Most on the edge of death due to their burns.

It was a sad sight.

As she walked back inside with a wrinkled frown, the old woman checked on the young child staying with her. She didn't want the child to wake and have the child witness the horrid scene below.

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A sunrise was very beautiful when it is seen shying up from the peeks of the hills. The faint orange aura following the glowing orb. From her window, Wen-Li saw that sunrise.

Wen-Li was a tiny four-year old girl taken in by Anmai, an old widow. Large brown eyes stared at the sunrise through unkempt brown hair. She stayed with Anmai because she had no home, for she was abandoned. So says Anmai. Anmai took and named Wen-Li because she knew her mother slightly. Her mother was a young teen and couldn't possibly support a child. The young mother had gone to Anmai's tea house and pleaded for her to take the child. Anmai had accepted.

She didn't let it affect her. Wen-Li pried herself from the window and headed to the kitchen.

"Good morning, Wen-Li," Anmai greeted from the table. Even though she was very aged, Anmai kept on doing daily chores that Wen-Li couldn't do, like cook.

"Mornin'," Wen-Li said. For a young girl, her voice had a slight rasp to it. She wasn't very feminine, commonly mistaken as a guy. Wen-Li didn't really care.

The two ate in silence, not having anything to say, as usual. The mornings were like this. Normally, after eating breakfast, Anmai would sew something or read while Wen-Li played outside. Wen-Li never ventured far, scared that she might displease Anmai.

She was grateful to Anmai and gave her the only thing she could, respect.

Today Anmai had something else in store.

"Wen-Li," she started.

The young child looked up.

"Want to go for a walk?"

"Yeah!" Wen-Li smiled and hopped down from her chair. "Let's go!"

Anmai smiled as she got up and pushed her chair in. Wen-Li grabbed Anmai's hand and happily led her out the door.

The wind had died down from last night, reduced to a light breeze. Anmai carefully walked down the hill. It was not steep, but at her age it was better to be on the safe side. It wouldn't be wise to walk close to the village, so Anmai directed Wen-Li's path to a cluster of trees.

Wen-Li was too busy admiring the trees to notice Anmai's quick glances. The trees looked huge in Wen-Li's eyes. She wanted to climb them, jump from them. But she couldn't. Anmai instructed her not to, Wen-Li's body was too fragile.

There was no path to follow in the group of trees, but they were spaced out enough so one could make it through with no problems. Wen-Li was excited; she had never left the top of the hill. When Anmai went to get ingredients for dinner, Wen-Li stayed put. It would be the perfect chance for her to do some exploring, but even she knew not to disobey someone who practically gave her the life she has now. As she walked, Wen-Li looked up at the sun, raised her free hand to cover her eyes and smiled.

Anmai mimicked Wen-Li. The sun erased last nights events, waking the birds and having them sing their song so the faded screams would not be heard.

But one thing did break the bird's song. A child crying that caught both Wen-Li and Anmai's ears. It wasn't too far. Wen-Li sprinted toward the source.

"Please, slow down, Wen-Li!" shouted Anmai. She picked up her pace, but it hardly made a difference.

Wen-Li turned many sharp corners, almost running head first into a couple of trees, before she found the source of the tears.

It was a boy. Older then herself, he crouched under the protective tree branches that acted as a shield to the sun.

"Hey, you okay?" asked Wen-Li. She took a few slow steps in the boy's direction, but he shuffled helplessly away. "I just wanna help." she said, coming closer to the boy.

"S-stay away!" yelled the young boy. Wen-Li caught a glimpse of his face when he said that. His face was wet from tears and mucus dripping from his eyes and nose. Judging from his clothes, he must have camped outside for the previous night. They were dirt covered and had holes that probably came from braches stealing small fragments of them.

"Ah, there you are, Wen-Li." sighed Anmai. She walked over to Wen-Li and checked to see if she was injured. Once Anmai confirmed Wen-Li was all right, she made her way over to the boy.

"Leave m-me alone!" he shouted, burying his head back into his arms.

"There, there." Anmai cooed. She sat down next to the boy and started to rub his back in comfort.

The boy looked like he was going to protest, but he didn't. He didn't have the will to.

Wen-Li decided to go sit next to Anmai, tired of just standing around.

The wind kept up its gentle breeze. Everything was quiet except for the boy's sniffles.

Anmai kept comforting the boy until he stopped crying all together. It must have taken around three minutes for him to calm down.

Turning her head to the boy, she asked, "Would you like to stay with us?"

His eyes went wide with disbelief, but the expression was quickly replaced by happiness. The tears came back, but they were dancing happily on his cheeks.

"Thank you."

A/N: My chapters will not be long. I want to keep them short and sweet. But feel free to make your review as long as you want.

I work at my own pace.

Reviews are my motivation.

Until next chapter.


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